*Saraki Vows Senate Will Work With Buhari’s Govt To Deepen Democracy.
The new Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha has called for closer tie between the executive and the legislature under the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, stating that both arms of government are partners and not rivals.
The SGF said this when he met with the Senate President earler today during a courtesy visit he paid to the National Assembly.
He urged the Senate to put behind the skirmishes between it and the executive arm, vowing to ensure the full collaboration of the two arms, using his good office this time around.
The SGF said to Saraki, we are not in competition with the National Assembly. We are not rivals with the National Assembly. We are joint partners in this enterprise.
“If the National Assembly does not cooperate with the Presidency, I am not very sure we will be able to achieve the desired result that we want to see given the mandate that we have freely received from the people of Nigeria.
The Senate President echoed same view when he described the visit to the Senate by the SGF as symbolic.
Saraki said he was confident that the SGF would use his office to strengthen the relationship between the legislature and the executive, this time around, while assuring that the Senate under him would help the process.
He said, “Your visit truly show your intention of ensuring that you use your period as SGF to ensure that we truly work together to make Nigeria great. You are very right and I think people like us are not surprised because we know your antecedents.
“You know that in the presidential system that we are running in this democracy, it is not possible for us to be able to achieve all our goals if the Executive and Legislature do not have – not just an okay relationship – a fantastic and very close relationship.
“What you have done this afternoon has really brought that closer and I am sure that all my colleagues are going to appreciate that on the floor tomorrow when I communicate this to them. Truly, you have started on a very good note and I congratulate you.
“We will continue to work together to ensure that we deliver on our promises. As you said, the constitution is very clear on what our responsibilities are. You did not write it and I did not write it, neither did any of us in the National Assembly today but we have all sworn to it and we must continue to ensure that we work with it and we work for the interest of Nigeria.
Earlier, Boss Mustapha praised the leadership of Saraki which he said has helped to stabilize the polity and also given the purposeful direction for democracy to yield better dividends.
He said, “After your emergence as the Chairman of the National Assembly and also the President of the Senate, you have provided the kind of leadership that is required to stabilize the polity.
“Nigeria as a nation has been going through some storms that we inherited but because of your able leadership and your colleagues in the Senate and House of Representatives, we have stabilized this process to a large extent.